Camp Atterbury shows off its developments in military drone technology

EDINBURGH — Camp Atterbury is the Department of Defense's base of choice for testing new drone and aerial technology before it reaches the battlefield. It demonstrated how far the research has come by taking the drones into action.

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The Technology Readiness and Experimentation initiative, or T-REX, makes Camp Atterbury a major focus of defense development research. It held a technology showcase event under the T-REX banner on Thursday.

"To learn how to use that equipment, to give feedback, soldier-level feedback, is a sense of pride and showcases the capabilities we have at Camp Atterbury," said Indiana National Guard Adjutant General Lawrence Muennich.

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Emil Michael, the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, flew to Camp Atterbury from Washington, D.C., to see the technology for himself.

"Really, they're some of the most innovative things we've ever done at the DoD," Michael said. "All of these systems have been developed in the last 18 to 24 months."

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Both Michael and Muennich believe the research is especially important right now because the rest of the world is starting to keep pace with American military technology.

"What's happening in Ukraine is that the whole world is watching; it's a new modality for warfare," Michael said. "There's no other country that could be as ready as we."

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"Our competitors and near-peer competitors have caught up with us," Muennich added. "What we're doing here is going to leapfrog us again."